Tales from Grimwold: Leoflice, the last Nymph

Macadam Snore was desperate to celebrate alongside the fellow villagers of Grimwold. With the wizard's enchanted dust Macadam had defeated the great Grima Pinbeams, the ghost trees of the south, that threatened to bleed the lands around Grimwold dry. But Macadam knew he had to leave. In return for the salvation of his village Macadam pledged himself to the Wizard of Galdorgalere.
Whilst his mother danced around the spitting pyre of celebration and his father charged his tankard of Applewine with other Grimwoldians, Macadam packed his bearskin pack with berries, salted meat, clothing and his journal.
Upon leaving but a note explaining his duty to the Wizard, Macadam turned his back on all he knew and set out on the northward pass toward the white mountains. The morning trek was easy. He followed the even shale pathway that weaved round Lessings Lake and then through a patchwork carpet of blue thimbleflowers and red pinchweed whilst above him the blood-red north sun and golden south sun shone brightly against the cloudless aquamarine sky. It was a day so beautiful it lifted Macadam's spirit and encouraged him to sing.
"Long is the day
And short is the night,
I must journey from home,
Let me take flight.
Hear my prayers,
Deep my kin safe and warm,
Till I return home,
At the break of dawn."
Macadam had sung that song many a time with his father, but never before appreciated the meaning of the words until now. He knew he'd never return home and that thought began to weigh heavily on his heart.
Before he realised it Lessings Lake was far behind him and he was trekking through a dense forest of Cedarbeams. They towered above him, like silent giants, swaying in the gentle breeze, encasing him in their cool shade and whispering tales of travellers that they'd seen come and go. It was a treacherous walk. The pathway was uneven, strewn with rocks and gnarled roots, and moist from lack of sun. Macadam shivered not just from the chill of the air but from fear. Alone he was vulnerable and he knew all too well that dark places harboured demons and other such unutterable terrors that would prey on the defenceless. With his jerkin pulled tightly round his chest he deftly strode on and breathed a sigh of relief when finally he broke through the other side of the wood unscathed. Ahead of him was a shallow, freshwater stream that cut down the green mountainside and curved round a rocky outcrop at the base of the mountain. Macadam followed it, uncorking his flask ready to fill it for the journey ahead but as he skirted the outcrop he was greeted with a sight that stopped him dead in his tracks.
Sitting on a bare rock on the far side of the pool was a girl dressed in a white gown. She was staring as though deep in thought, into the shallow pool beside her. Though beautiful her sad demeanour was reflected in the dowdy, over-ripe corn colour of her hair and her grey, lifeless skin. She appeared not to notice Macadam approach, too absorbed in whatever vexed her.
Macadam ventured to speak to the maiden.
"Good day to you, fair lady," Macadam said, hesitantly. "My name is Macadam. May I ask your name?"
The girl gracefully lifted her head, showing no sign of surprise at finding she was no longer alone, and looked straight into Macadam's eyes. Macadam, at the sight of her unpolished sapphire blue eyes, suddenly felt as though he was floating on a carpet of air.
"I'm Leoflice," she said in voice so melancholic it sounded like the echo of angels.
"You sound sadder than I," said Macadam. "Why so?"
Leoflice stroked her golden tresses and stared down into the shallow rock pool beside her. "I'm now the last of my kind," she said. "Yesterday my sister passed on to the other realm, the second life, and I am alone, the last of the nymphs."
"You're a water elf?" Macadam asked, surprised to discover that something he had always thought was a myth was in fact real.
The girl nodded. "Though my pool is now but a puddle and I fear I too shall pass. Though, being lonely as I am, perhaps that is not such a bad end."
"How can you say such a thing? It would be a travesty for the land to loose something so beautiful as you. There must be something I can do to help."
"Alas, unless you can tell the suns to shield their heat and bring clouds of rain by the end of summer my home shall be no more."
Macadam scratched his chin and pondered the dilemma until suddenly, like a bolt of lightening, an idea struck him.
"You require fresh water, do you not?" asked Macadam.
Leoflice nodded.
"Then I have your answer. Beyond that wood likes a body of water known to the land dwellers as Lessings Lake. I hear it is inhabited by the Mer people but I'm sure they wouldn't mind sharing it with you. They're very accommodating. Then you'd no longer be lonely. What do you say to such a plan?"
Macadam watched with delight as her dimmed appearance suddenly radiated with brilliant light. Her tresses glimmered like gold and her skin warmed to the colour of elk's milk.
"That would please me greatly, Macadam," she said as she gently took Macadam's hand into hers and planted the softest of velvet kisses onto his skin.
Macadam felt a tingle that spread through his body, warming him, reassuring him, giving him a strength and vitality that he had never felt before. It was as though she had blessed him with good fortune.
With a smile and a spring in his step, Macadam led Leoflice back through the Cedarbeam wood, feeling not a hint of fear or foreboding and introduced her to the most magnificent of lakes.
Leoflice looked into Macadam's eyes and smiled broadly. "I am most grateful to you, Macadam," she said before looking out across Lessings Lake. "This is indeed a splendid place, and a fitting home for the last of the Nymphs."
Leoflice stepped into the shallow waters of the lake and then turned to Macadam. "You are on a long journey, I sense. You need not fear the unknown, for you shall have my protection."
And with that Leoflice disappeared into the crystal waters.